8 years ago
5
The end of capitalism has begun
Without us noticing, we are entering the postcapitalist era. At the heart of further change to come is information technology, new ways of working and the sharing economy. The old ways will take a long while to disappear, but it’s time to be utopian
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http://theguardian.com
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I'm always skeptic about any utopian predictions. Mason himself describes what's replacing the old form of capitalism:
Neoliberalism plus high automation, even for tasks that required knowledge and intelligence (welcome our new AI overlords), is more likely to bring back feudalism and indentured servitude than to "free us from capitalism".
But with high automation and potentially a money-less society, what will they need human slaves for? It's more likely to lead to (much increased) sterilization and concealed genocide of anyone upper-middle class and down, as the elites desperately cling to the old world where they were all powerful. When capitalism is breathing its last breath, I expect the rich elite will look to dispose of as many of us leeches on 'their' planet as possible.
But soon after this tragedy, the class divides will disappear. There can't be capitalism without scarcity, and if everyone has everything they need provided without charge by technology like 3D printers, that can print out even better free technologies, there are no longer any rich or poor or weak or powerful. Just people.
Even before any kind of mechanization or automation existed, the amount of people needed to keep the Nobility fed, clothed and comfortable were a minority of the population. What they needed the rest of the people for ? It's a game o power and control. Why companies try so desperately to increase their market shares ? Why nations care so much much about their GDPs ? Or how many smaller nations their foreign policies influences ? After a while, it stops being about survival or comfort and it becomes a game.
The dispossessed are pawns in this game. They exist to serve a a boogie man to keep the middle class worried and happy at the same time (worried that they're leeching resources/threatening revolt and happy they're not part of it), they also make excellent cannon fodder.
But the serfs all paid taxes to the nobility for the right to live and work on their lands. They needed every one of them to raise enough capital to expand their empires and conquer new peoples to enslave. They couldn't print money out of thin air back then like today's nobles do.
Actually, they could, by reducing the proportion of gold to other metals on coins, but this is nitpicking on my side. In our hypothetical situation, tax money is no longer an issue, since we're talking about serfdom in a post-scarcity society. In this scenario, people themselves are the currency thus the necessity of keeping them around.